Holiday Cheer
by Sunset Clouds
Summary: Reid and Garcia throw their own little party for just the two of them. Reid/Garcia friendship. Written for January New Year's Challenge Challenge on "Chit Chat on Author's Corner"


**So, this is for the ****Round 7 Fanfiction Challenge. Now, I got the pairing Reid/Garcia, and the three prompts were ****party hats, ball drop, interrupted kiss. So, thus, I will attempt to write something good. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan of them romantically, but I am a fan of them just as friends. Enjoy!**

.-.

Spencer Reid didn't have anything to do that New Years originally. Not that he wanted to go to a party and interact with people and drink, of course. He just hoped that he would at least spend time with one other person that night. But he didn't anticipate everyone else having plans. Hotch was having a quiet evening with Jack, while Emily was with Morgan at some party. Rossi was at a separate party while Ashley Seaver was out of town with her boyfriend, Ryan, and even JJ was spending time with her family. The only person he knew wasn't busy was Penelope Garcia, but only because Kevin was out of town for work. That was why when Garcia asked him what he was doing and he said nothing, she invited him over.

Which was why he was outside Garcia's door, wondering if coming here to hang out with her was the best plan. Alright, so Garcia was nice and fun and all, but they both had entirely different views on...stuff. She was all happy and fun and perky, and he preferred to sit at home with a good book. Her idea of a New Years was throwing a party and playing party games and jumping around until midnight hit, while Reid would have preferred to cuddle with a good book and turn on the TV only once to see the Times Square ball drop.

Taking a deep breath, Reid finally knocked three times on the door before crossing his arms, waiting for the redhead to open the door. It only took him a few seconds of waiting before the door opened and Reid gaped in surprise. He looked at a very festive Garcia, party hat, glasses and all, decked out in front of him. She had a huge smile on her face as she gestured him inside. He shouldn't be surprised; after all, this was Garcia they were talking about. But it still amazed him that she had the courage to dress like that.

"You like it? I've had this planned for weeks now, until Kevin got called away of course," Garcia asked, noting his curiosity. Reid nodded as confidently as he could, but her outfit was so...bright and colourful. It was starting to make Reid's eyes hurt a little bit. Sighing, he looked away from her ensemble and glanced at all of the food in the kitchen.

"You're very colourful," he admitted, still eyeing the food, as if it were feeding twenty people instead of just two. "You inviting any more people?" he finally asked, causing Garcia to laugh playfully as she shook her head.

"No sir, you are my first and only guest. I didn't quite know what a boy genius like you ate, so I kind of grabbed whatever I could find," she admitted. Reid nodded as he pursed his lips awkwardly.

"This is nice Garcia. Thanks for inviting me," he said gratefully as Garcia just smiled.

"Of course, boy genius, what kind of person would I have been if I left you alone on New Years? Besides, I didn't want to go anywhere tonight with Kevin, so it's nice to have some company," she said. And it was nice from that moment on; even though Reid and Garcia had totally different methods of entertaining themselves, it seemed to make it work for the two. Garcia pretty much forced Reid to play every party game that could be played with two people and Garcia had to endure a half an hour of Reid ranting about the history of New Years and how only 8% of people are always successful in achieving their resolutions.

It was ten minutes to midnight when Garcia flicked on the TV to watch the ball drop in New York. Reid didn't want to admit it, but he was actually having a lot of fun with Garcia; well, he was having more fun that he thought he would. He sat on the couch while Garcia fluttered around like a butterfly, seemingly too excited to actually take a breath and sit down. He watched her pace around the room, his eyes darting back and forth from the TV to her new position in the room, letting a small smile appear on his face. He liked seeing her so chipper and so happy, especially at work. It just made it a little bit more enjoyable to go to work every day. Things had changed in the past year and it made him feel uneasy and a little scared of what could be coming next. JJ was gone, there was a new agent, Garcia was being forced to help take over JJ's job and present the profiles that, a year ago, she would have hated to bits. It just seemed that everything was changing too fast for his liking and he didn't want to particularly know what would happen in the New Year. 2011 seemed like it could go one of two ways: it could be really great or it could turn out horribly. He just hoped it was the former, because he didn't think he could take any more horror as they had to.

It was now three minutes to midnight and Garcia finally plopped down beside Reid, grinning as her cheeks flushed. "It's almost 2011! Are you excited?" Garcia asked excitedly. When he paused momentarily (and apparently a moment too late), she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "You aren't excited. Why aren't you excited about a whole new year?" she asked.

In retaliation, he threw his hands up. "What do you mean? I didn't say anything!" he shrieked and Garcia nodded. She stood up as she faced him, glaring dangerously.

"Exactly. Don't lie to me Reid; I know when you're lying. Why aren't you excited? It's a fresh start to everything! It's like being able to start over and make new memories and have new adventures. It's totally unknown and exhilarating," Garcia exclaimed.

"I guess- it's the fear of the unknown. I mean, look what's happened this year, with JJ and Ashley Seaver and Hotch? I don't want 2011 to be like 2010," Reid finally admitted. Garcia sighed deeply before sitting back down next to Reid. She looked at him with understanding and acceptance and it made him feel a little bit more comfortable.

"It won't be anything like 2010, you know why?" When he shook his head, Garcia smiled softly as she took his hand and stroked it gently. "Because we're going to make 2011 the best year ever. That and no year can be anything like the previous. It goes against all moral codes of new starts," she answered. And just looking at her and seeing her all confident and stuff, it made Reid feel a whole lot better about the upcoming year and she was right. It would be the best damn year they would ever have and they would enjoy it.

"Thanks Garcia, you're really amazing," he told her. Garcia just smiled discreetly as she leaned forward and pecked his cheek. When she leaned back, she gazed into Reid's eyes and there seemed to be a connection flowing through them. It wasn't romantic or anything, but it was nice. Suddenly, the shouts coming from the TV broke this connection and they turned to the TV to see the ball drop.

"Happy New Year!" Garcia cried out, jumping up to her feet. Reid sighed as he also got to his feet as Garcia wrapped him in a humongous hug. It was amazing on what kind of power a hug could really hold on a person. Just being close to somebody familiar made him feel loved and made him feel like he could conquer anything. But then again, her hugs always made him feel invincible, if only for a moment.

He glanced at the TV, where a young couple looked just about to kiss before the TV cut to another young couple. Smiling a bit, Garcia released Reid from her grasp, her cheeks a rosy red. It was just at that moment where Reid realized that he wouldn't have spent his New Years anywhere else but with Penelope Garcia.

"Happy New Years Penelope."

**I hope you enjoyed it guys. I enjoyed writing it, like, a lot. I definitely will write more Criminal Minds stories, well, oneshots, if you guys want them. **


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